California State Military
DepartmentSatellite and Partner Museums
California State Military
DepartmentHOURS OF OPERATION: Thursday and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Tours are welcome with prior reservations.
E-MAIL: crmiltmus@tcsn.net
The Camp Roberts Historical Museum consists of the Main Museum, Building 114 (originally the WWII Red Cross Headquarters) and the Museum Annex, Building 6485 (originally the WWII Post Office). The Museum complex has about 3,000 line items displayed and stored for future exhibits.
In the Main Museum you will see exhibits on training at Camp Roberts during WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War and Iraqi Freedom, as well as exhibits on Corporal Roberts (the Camp's namesake), the National Guard, the Women's Army Corps, the WWII railroad station, Camp Roberts celebrities, dining facilities, civilian workers, the hospital, the PX, the Soldiers Bowl, and others. There is also an extensive patch collection, a small reference library and a video viewing room. The Main Museum also has a large gift shop with books (including "The History of Camp Roberts"), WWII postcards, posters, DVDs, clothing and many other interesting items.
The Museum Annex houses our large vintage
vehicle collection as well as many other exhibits, including the
Camp stage shows and radio broadcasts, the Camp chapels, a WWII
office, an Iraqi Republican Guard exhibit, and a large model vehicle
collection.
To view some of the exhibits at Camp Roberts, CLICK HERE!
 Eleven-year-old Samuel Bisares is the proud and happy winner of a 3-foot long radio- controlled M1A2 Abrams Tank. The tank was the Grand Prize in a FREE Museum drawing for ALL KIDS during the Camp Roberts Open House activities on Saturday, May 5, 2007. Sam's dad (who coincidently had been a tank crewman in the Regular Army) brought lucky Sam down from Salinas to attend the Open House. Both the Main Museum and Museum Annex exhibit buildings were swamped with visitors who came to celebrate Camp Roberts' 66th Anniversary. The Museum was also host to World War II American, German and Russian re-enactors who educated visitors on their weapons and period vehicles. Upwards of 2,000 visitors came for the big barbeque lunch, an array of current Army vehicles, a jump house, hands-on weapons simulators, and scores of civic and veterans group booths with games and give-away items |
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Camp Roberts Museum Opens Display on Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger: Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense under President Reagan, was one of the early soldiers to attend Army Basic Training at Camp Roberts in 1941--as the Camp was still nearing completion.
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| The Museum was also the site for filming of an episode of History Channel's ‘Conquorers’ series dealing with the Battle of Berlin and Russian General Zhukov, which aired in the Spring of 2006. The Camp Roberts Historical Museum has a firm commitment, with the help of the Camp Roberts Public Affairs Office, of continued cooperation with film companies, television networks, local area television stations, historical reenactment groups, historical research groups and other museums, in order to better relate the sacrifices of our soldiers to the general public. |
 An HO-scale replica of the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot that served Camp Roberts during World War II (and presumably through the Korean War) is the most recent addition to the Camp Roberts Historical Musuem. The depot was located on the East side of Highway 101 across from the Camp's Main Gate. At that time, Highway 101 was a 2-lane highway. With all the Army troops coming and going, this depot was the busiest stop on the Southern Pacific's coastal route during World War II. Also in exhibit--located in the Main Museum--is an original Southern Pacific poster of the Camp Roberts train schedule, Camp Roberts train tickets from WWII, depot photos and other Southern Pacific Railroad artifacts. The builder of the scale model train layout is Leonard Formosa, a member of the Atascadero Model Railway Club. MSG Formosa is a retired Master Sergeant who served in tank battalions of the California Army National Guard, retiring from fulltime duty as a Master Gunner. He generously built this wonderfully detailed recreation of the historic railway depot for the Museum--bringing Camp Roberts' railway history alive for all to see!
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| A film crew from NBC's Today
Show recently visited the Camp Roberts Historical Museum to film
a segment for their show. The segment deals with the Korean War
period at Camp Roberts, and includes interviews with Army Korean
War veterans and the presentation to the Pacheco family of their
grandfather's wallet which was left at Camp Roberts during his
training here. The Museum was also the site of a recent filming of an episode of History Channel's Conquorers series dealing with the Battle of Berlin, which aired this last Spring. The Camp Roberts Historical Museum has a firm commitment, with the help of the Camp Roberts Public Affairs Office, of continued cooperation with film companies, television networks, local area television stations, historical reenactment groups, historical research groups and other museums, in order to better relate the sacrifices of our soldiers to the general public. |
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The Camp Roberts Historical Museum is always looking for personal accounts from soldiers (and civilians) who did their training at Camp Roberts or worked here in a staff capacity. Would you like a unique opportunity to share the story of your service here with future generations? If you are interested, you can share the story of those experiences by writing or recording them and sending the document or recording to: Camp Roberts Historical Museum, Building 114, Camp Roberts, CA 93451-5000. We are interested in hearing about your experiences at Camp Roberts, and also your later experiences--especially if you were sent overseas in war time. The Museum also accepts donations of items of significant historical interest to Camp Roberts. These items include personal papers, letters, scrapbooks, diaries, memoirs, photographs, uniform items, personal correspondence, military newspapers and articles, regulations and manuals, unit histories and other books, professional military journals, maps, soldier art and unit insignia.
You can also share your experiences in World War II, Korea or Vietnam by taking part in the U.S. Army Military History Institute (MHI) survey by going to the veterans questionnaire section at http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usamhi/index.htm, or by calling them at (717) 245-3971.
You can also share your story through the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project. They are collecting and archiving recollections of wartime veterans to share them with future generations. To get involved in this project, visit them on the web at http://www.loc.gov/veterans, call (888) 371-5848, or write them at: Veterans History Project, The Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20540-4615.
Your unique military experiences are wanted
and needed, and will provide much to future generations!
Camp Roberts consists of over 43,000 acres of training facilities which were constructed in 1940. Over 434,000 men were trained at Camp Roberts and another 300,000 were trained during the Korean War.
There is no admission, but contributions are gladly accepted.
For more information on the Camp Roberts
Historical Museum--or to arrange a group tour--please call the
Museum at (805) 238-8288 when it is open, or call the Curator,
Gary McMaster, at (805) 237-8471 during off hours. Our mailling
address is:
Camp Roberts Historical Museum
Bldg 114
Camp Roberts, CA 93451-5000
To request iformation, please complete the Camp Roberts Historical Museum Research Request Form
